


Ace in the Hole

by Hello_Starlight



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Batfamily (DCU), Blood and Violence, Brainwashing, Child Abuse, Dark, Dark Comedy, F/M, Family Drama, Family Fluff, I promise you guys it isnt as dark as it seems, Insanity, Joker and Harley as parents, Joker and Harley being okay parents, Loss of Identity, Murder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22779979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hello_Starlight/pseuds/Hello_Starlight
Summary: Nothing had been the same since your father died. Your mother became drunk and violent and could only afford a trashy, meth-lab of an apartment building. When you go for a ride around the city to blow off some steam, you end up finding yourself as the adopted child of the infamous duo Harley Quinn and Joker. Brainwashed and turned insane, its up to the Batfamily to try and piece you back together. But is it possible to piece together the insane?
Relationships: Harleen Quinzel/Reader, Harley quinn/reader, Joker (DCU)/Harleen Quinzel, Joker (DCU)/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	1. Goodbye Old Life

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Hi there! So, just so you know this fanfic can exist in any universe of your choosing with the Batfam. I kinda just needed to write down something down and this came! Hope ya guys like it!

Life.

Sometimes it was good, other times...not so much.

That's how it should be; you got your ups and you got your downs.

Here in Gotham, the only up you have is getting that minimum wage paycheck. There's literally nothing entertaining in Gotham unless you went to the movies, if you could afford that!

Otherwise, it's just an endless spiral of going down, down, down until you reach rock bottom. In which case, somehow an earthquake happens and next thing you know you're going deeper!

No one is truly ever happy in Gotham.

Unless of course your mentally insane, high, or one of the top class criminals this so called "Batman" throws in jail.

Batman.

Hah!

Stupid ass name for a stupid ass crime fighter.

You've never seen photos of this "Batman" but according to people he's saved, he exists.

You arrived at your apartment building, this time thankfully without having to shove off some low class criminal or homeless person demanding money for drugs.

As usual the lobby was minimally cleaned and there was yet another bucket in the corner from where the roof was supposedly fixed last week.

So much for that.

You hurried up the stairs not touching any of the railings, you'd rather risk falling down the stairs than cutting your hand on a razor blade or touching an unknown sticky substance. Travelling by stairs was also much rather safer option than the elevator. The machine creaked and groaned no matter the weight of passengers and when it came to a stop, it did so abruptly. One day the thick wires were going to break and you preferred not to be in there when it did. 

After a few flights of stairs, which was your cardio for the day, you arrived at the heavy metal door leading to your floor. With a hard push having to use your body weight, it managed to creak open with a squeal of a high pitch noise that made your toes curl.

You continued onward until you arrived at your apartment--well more specifically your mother's apartment. As much as you hate to say that title, it was unfortunately true. When you stepped in you immediately wrestled off your shoes that were drenched by the rain. Peeling your socks off that were also soaked from your thin shoes.

Your toes were red and ached from how chilly it was today. It should be spring, according to that stupid ass lying groundhog--and yet it was below freezing outside!

You peeled off your thin raincoat, your hoodie underneath was a bit damp around the collar and hem. You kept it on anyways since the heat once again wasn't working.

You sighed in irritation and shuffled into the living room. There was an empty vodka bottle and shot glass from last night still left on the table. The apartment reeked of cigarette smoke since your mother was a heavy smoker. You usually pleaded her to go on the balcony but with the rain and the cold she had been smoking inside instead.

Despite the current cold temperatures outside, you cracked open one of the windows since the lingering smoke smelled far worse than the cold. As you headed to your room you noticed your mother's door was closed signalling she was home. She always napped in her room when she came back from her work as a nurse at Gotham Hospital. You knew she only worked at Gotham to help with the expense of how costly health insurance was with her smoking. 

You slipped on much drier and comfier socks before returning to the living room.

You cleaned up any left over dishes or trash that your mother apparently didn't have enough motivation to pick up. The noise of the dishes being placed in the dishwasher seemed to have "woken the beast", your mother stumbled out of her bedroom with a bottle in hand of wine--her hand never seemed to be empty of alcohol or a cigarette when she wasn't working. 

"What's with all the racket?!" She spat, angered.

"Just cleaning the dishes." You answered politely.

"Well don't make such a racket! It's aggravating my migraine." She spat.

"Are you sure it's not a hangover?" You mumbled under your breath, with an arched brow.

She gave you a harsh look and stumbled over to her prized cigarette box on the counter. Your mother peered into the box for a second before she snapped her head towards you with anger. 

"Did you touch my smokes?" She demanded.

"No! I know what that stuff does to my body." You defended.

"Then why is my supply so low? Huh?!" She growled, shaking the open box at you.

Only a few of the entire forty-pack remained.

"Probably because you've been smoking them all away like M&M's." You said, rolling your eyes.

"Don't you lie to me!" She snarled.

She tried to shake her finger at you, but when she let go of the table she nearly stumbled into it.

"I'm not!"

"I just got these this week!"

"You've been smoking them all week." You shrugged.

"Don't you lie! You lie! Just like him! He lied!" She shrieked.

"Mom! Look at yourself! You need help!"

"No I do not!" She defended.

"You're drowning yourself in alcohol and cigarettes! I don't wanna see you like this! You need to sto-"

You shrieked in surprise at the sudden sting in your cheek, the force causing you to fall onto the ground.

Your mother had slapped you!

The dark circles under her sunken eyes made her terrifying gaze darker.

You glared up at her and hurried to your still wet shoes. You slipped them on, not bothering to tie the laces before hurrying out. By the time you were at the stairs you realized you forgot your raincoat but you didn't bother returning back for it.

You never wanted to return.

Your friend lived a few blocks away you could go to, she'd happily let you stay the night. Her parents were almost never home since they were always at work in long interval shifts. You stormed down into the parking garage where your ride was, it was a Yamaha motorcycle. Another friend had given it to you for a couple hundred bucks after his brother had found it in a storage space he bought.

He had tried to give it to him, but his parents refused to let him ride it so he gave it you. This was thankfully during the time your father was still with the living, he had at first been a bit skeptic but it was cheaper than a car.

The innards were rusted and missing a few parts but your father had been able to fix it up for you. You swallowed the anger and sadness that came with the memory and started it up. The machine roared to life and you felt a bit better at the engines soothing purr. You smiled and placed your helmet on before booking it out. You sped down the streets fast, flying down them.

It felt exhilarating as you weaved between cars and even swerved into alley ways. You were too fast for even the cops to catch you--not that they had the time to even care about a speeding motorcyclist. You swerved onto a road and saw there was no cars what so ever. You sped even faster, the speedometer tapping against the edge of the meter trying to go past.

In a split second a car swerved in front of you and stopped right in the middle of the road. You gasped and squeezed the breaks until your knuckles became pale white, the bike squealed and became unsteady, wobbling.

You would crash into the car!

You grit your teeth and let go of the bike, tumbling into the ground. You made sure to roll knowing that grinding against the tar would hurt much worse. The bike fell onto it's side as it continued to glide down and slam into the car, but with not as much force as it would be with you still on it.

You picked yourself up and threw off your helmet, the design on the outside heavily scratched up due to the fall. The arms of your hoodie had torn revealing red lightly rash-burnt skin. You glared at the car, the windows tinted so you were unable to see who it was.

It was just a simple black car with tinted windows, nothing like a Lamborghini or sports car or whatever the so called Batman would have.

You got up and stormed over to the driver's side window, slamming your fist against the window.

"What the fuck dick-bag?!" You demanded, "You owe me the cost of repairs for my bike! Don't you realize how important this bike is to me!" You shouted.

The driver's and front passenger door opened and two men stepped out in business suits.

"What the-?"

You took several steps back as the passenger opened the trunk. The driver grabbed for you, but you dodged.

They were going to kidnap you!

You tried to run, but before you could get far the driver grabbed your arm and pulled you back. He pressed his arm against your throat well pulling your arm behind you. One wrong move and you'd either choke out or dislocate your shoulder. The passenger stepped into your view and reached under your chin to pull off your helmet.

You snarled at him.

When he saw your face he nodded at his partner and they dragged you over to the trunk.

"HELP!" You screamed.

"HELP ME! SOMEONE!" You shrieked.

They threw you in the trunk and slammed the top down.

"HELP ME!"...

A groan escaped your lips as you woke up.

You felt like shit.

Your throat was sore and dry and you had a raging headache. You rolled into your side but your muscles ached, your back especially. A harsh hiss escaped your nostrils from the pain.

Wait...why doesn't it smell like cigarette smoke?

Or like you had sprayed a fragrance to cover up the smell?

It smelled...clean.

You fluttered open your eyes, wincing at the soft light coming through the window.

Your eyes scanned the area, the walls were a pale pink color.

But your walls back home were (color)?

You pushed yourself up onto your elbows and scanned around the room. Everything was girly colors of pale pink and white with stuffed animals scattered around the room and even the bed you were laying on.

This definitely wasn't your room!

You scrambled out of the bed gazing around the room like everything was booby trapped.

You gazed down at your clothes and saw you were changed into a collared pajama set that was pink with a Minnie Mouse theme. Definitely not something you'd normally wear. With cautious steps, you strode to the exit door and gently tapped the knob to see if it was trapped. When it wasn't, you twisted the knob and saw you were able to open it.

You stepped out into the hallway. No one was waiting at the door to throw you back in. Your bare footsteps echoed in the bare hall as you hurried down to the other end. The halls seemed endless until at last you saw a light leading to another room. You cautiously stepped in and saw there was two people sitting at a dining table. A man and a woman you recognized as the King and Queen of Gotham.

You gasped alerting them of your presence. Before you could run out the woman noticed you.

"There she is!" She squealed with a wide smile.

You kept silent, scared.

This was The Joker and Harley Quinn!

Known for killing people for no reason!

"Come here sweetie!" She called, patting the chair beside her.

You didn't know whether to run or obey her order. Noticing your internal struggle, the woman got up and looped your arm with hers taking you over to the seat. You sat down gingerly glancing between her and the Joker who was scanning you. He could obviously tell you were scared--his purring grin and tapping of his gloved finger against the table didn't help either.

"Welcome home sweetie! You hungry?" She asked.

Before you could speak, a plate was set in front of you startling you. It was two dropped eggs with smiling bacon lips. Other plates were set in front of them as well, Harley chuckled and picked up her fork beginning to eat her breakfast.

"Aren't ya hungry sweetums? Or do you have a specific diet?" She asked.

You gathered enough courage to speak, "What am I doing here?"

She frowned and the Joker lifted his head. Harley placed her silverware down.

"Sweetie-" Harley began, reaching over.

You smacked her hand away, "I'm not your daughter. Now tell me why the fuck I'm here."

"You're here because you are our daughter. Harles always wanted a family, so that's why you're here. Your only option is to accept your role." He answered.

"I am not your daughter." You growled lowly, "And I am never going to accept your role."

You stood up from the table and began to walk out. When you arrived to the door, you felt a sharp pain on the back of your head and suddenly blacked out.

When you opened your eyes there was a blindingly bright light above you. You winced having to role your head to the side from how bright it was.

"Puddin' don't hurt her too bad!"

You tried to raise your arms only to find your wrists and ankles were tied down. Your back was pressed to a cold, metal table.

Across from you were a terrifying looking machine that was connected to a machine and a tube that lead to something you couldn't see.

The Joker grinned as he stepped into your view.

"Good afternoon sweetheart." 

"Go fuck yourself!" You spat. 

"My, my, I was hoping I would do this after dinner but it seems not." The Joker sighed. 

You tugged on the bonds harder, bowing your back as you screamed and struggled. 

Harley leaned over and gently kissed your forehead as if she actually cared about you. 

"It's okay sweetheart, you will be a totally different you! You'll be happy all the time and will rule the city with us!" She giggled. 

Before you could question what she meant you saw the Joker fiddle with the machine. 

It was an old electrotherapy machine used in the old mental asylums.

"No! Please! No!" You shrieked.

Tears of fear and desperation streamed down onto the cold metal table below you. 

"NO! NOO!" You screamed. 

For once you believed in Batman, Batman would save you, right?! 

He couldn't save your father but he could save you! 

He will! 

You pleaded and begged but the Joker only seemed to get a kick out of it as he grabbed the pegs leading to your death.

"Harles, the gag!" He ordered. 

"Yep!" 

You sobbed as a thick leather gag separated your teeth and wrapped around your head. 

"Turn it up!" 

"Yes, puddin'!" She called gleefully as if she wasn't about to fry the brain of an innocent teenage girl.

There was a low buzz. You could feel your arm hairs tingle from the electricity coming from the machine. 

You screamed and struggled harder, shaking your head. 

"Pin her head down!" He growled. 

Harley--already wearing special gloves--held your head down by your forehead and chin. You tried to move your head but her grip was nearly bruising. 

He rubbed the pegs together. 

"It'll only hurt for a second," Joker assured. 

He pressed them against your temples. 

NO!!!....

Dead bodies laid scattered about. 

A mouth grinned as their tongue licked the blood coated knife. 

A gloved hand shoved a man's body onto the floor. His neck was slit open from ear to ear, his face forever paralyzed with fear. 

"Sweetie?" Harley called, "Are you ready to get going?"

You grinned, your pale white face accentuated by your cold. (eye color) eyes and red lips. 

"I'm ready mother..." ....


	2. Chapter 2

You pouted as you scanned the newspaper. 

**Batman Stops Penguin's Bank Raid!**

_Batman, Batman, Batman!_

You snarled and slammed the paper down on the table.

"That stupid man dressed as a bat is ruining our fun!" You sat back in your chair and over dramatically pouted well you crossed your arms. 

The Joker grumbled, reading the crumpled paper as well. 

A henchman placed a platter of grilled cheese in front of you. 

"What is this?" You snarled. 

"Your lunch, boss." He answered.

"I asked for mac and cheese, not grilled cheese!" You shouted, "Kill the chef who made this then feed his scraps to the jackals." 

"Yes, ma'am." 

You still took a big bite of your grilled cheese. 

Meh, not so bad, but still not mac and cheese and this was the third time he had messed up your order! 

"Mom, when are we going to go out again? I'm bored." You groaned. 

"When the Batsy settles down. Tension has been quite high with him and his little robins flying around Gotham." Harley answered. 

_"So?"_

The Joker answered for her.

"The Bat and his fledglings have been locking up villains left and right! One slip up and you'll be sent to the Asylum where you'll never see the light of day again!"

He spoke as if he was telling a campfire scary store.

"So we won't slip up." You shrugged.

"Sweetie, as much as we love you, you are not ready to face the Bat. You need more training--a simple knife won't stop him." Harley warned.

She noticed your anger and gave you an apologetic look. She reached her hand out to yours but you stood from the table with a loud squeal of your chair scrapping against wood.

On the way out you slashed the bamboo plant with your knife, feeling a tiny bit better...

You laughed mockingly at the police.

They dare think they can catch you? You were an expert at running from the police, your backpack full of money practically overflowing as you sped down the road at speeds over 100.

You were easily weaving your way through cars and even using the sidewalks when the traffic got tough. You were too fast for the cops to keep up with you and soon enough they had lost you.

But then, _he_ came.

The urban legend himself, The Batman.

He was driving a rather sick looking black car, but would it be fast enough to catch you?

You revved up your motor and pushed the throttle as far as it could go. Smoke rose from the asphalt beneath you. The wind was intense slamming into you as you cut through the air.

Yet the Bat was still hot on your tail. You pulled your gun from the holster strapped to your thigh and began firing at it but your bullets meerly ricocheted off of the heavy armored vehicle.

During this time you failed to realize you were heading straight towards a guard rail meant to keep vehicles from falling off the cliff into the ocean surrounding Gotham.

When you turned back you realized it was too late, your bike was in speeds too fast to turn quickly.

Just as you were about to reach the guard rail you felt something slam into you--actually it felt more like _someone_ slammed into you, wrapping their arm around your waist.

You cried out as you tumbled down the road along with the person.,/p>

Thankfully your full leather jumpsuit and helmet took most of the damage. When you finally stopped rolling you cursed and sat up throwing off your helmet.

Blood was oozing from your temple.

"You stupid Bat!" You screamed at the vehicle as it skid to a drifting stop.

"Who are you?" You turned to the man who saved you.

Go figure it was Nightwing, one of Batman's pets.

You glared at him with a wicked smirk.

"I, am the Crown Princess of Gotham, Ace. Once my father finds out you were after me you both are dead meat!"

"The Joker and Harley had a...daughter?" Nightwing's eyes widened.

"You're coming with us." Batman said stepping out.

Rage filled your soul seeing the urban legend himself in person.

"Well, well, if it isn't the dark crime fighter himself. I have a bone to pick with you! I trusted you would protect my father and you didn't! I'm gonna make sure you pay! Ya got that Bats?! PAY!"

You threw a smoke bomb on the ground and suddenly you were gone.

"Bruce, what does she mean by that?" Nightwing asked.

"I will have to look further into it back at the cave. Let's keep moving."

Dick nodded.

The Bat signal was still up...

" _Mom!_ _Pops!_ I'm home!" You called.

"Man did I get a big loot! The police officers were chasing after me but they couldn't catch up with me!"

You arrived into the living room and saw both of your parents were frowning at you.

"You went on a bank robbery with out us?" Harley sounded offended.

"Yeah?" Was that the wrong thing to say?

The Joker stormed up to you and slapped you.

_It seemed so familiar-_

You cried out, dropping the loot bags onto the floor with a rather heavy thud. Before you could speak, he grabbed the collar of your shirt.

"We told you not to go out committing crimes! You are not ready by yourself!" He practically screamed in your face.

"Well I'm fine!" You spat, you shoving him off.

"Then what happened to you? You looked like you fell off your bike." Harley gasped.

She held your face noticing your face paint had smeared to reveal the cut on your temple, a ring of black around your left eye as well as a few other scrapes and cuts—not to mention your leather suit was a tad torn up.

"I'm fine! I just fell off my bike!"

"By the Batman, wasn't it?" Your father growled.

"We saw on the news that Batsy was chasing after ya! We were so worried!" She explained.

"He was! And his pet Nightwing shoved me off the bike before I could crash. I escaped though!"

They only seemed more frightened.

_"He touched you?"_ Harley gasped.

"Why would you do such a thing?!" The clown prince snapped.

"I did it because I was bored!" You spat.

"You were bored? As reckless as we may be your mother and I know that YOU cannot be reckless!"

"Papa I..."

"No more! Go to your room now young lady!" Your father ordered.

You huffed and stormed off, slamming the door on your way in.

"We...we nearly lost her." Harley's voice cracked with fear.

Joker grunted, "Batsy knows that she's our weakness."

"Puddin' what if...what if Bat tries to take her away from us?!"

"We won't let that happen! She is our daughter—we will make sure Batman doesn't lay a single finger on her."

Harley nodded, but deep inside she was still worried.

_I won't let him take my daughter away! Never!..._

Bruce knew what you meant.

One of his worst times when he failed to protect a citizen.

_There was a man (Father's Name) (Last Name). He was (Father's age) with a wife and a child. His job was a police officer who was at the time off duty for vacation to spend time with his family._

_It was late at night, almost midnight. Your parents strolled down the street with you in between them. He was patrolling when he heard the sound of gunshots._

_When he arrived it was too late, the man had escaped and your father laid dead on the ground. You were only eleven at the time, you were desperately screaming your father's name as your mother struggled to pull you away._

_"Daddy!"_

_You had turned to him, tears streaming down your cheeks as your eyes stared at him with fear. You gripped onto his cloak._

_"Batman! Please! Help my daddy!" You had screamed at him._

_But he couldn't do anything—your father was already gone._

Your screams of pain and fear as you stared at him with betrayal never escaped his mind.

He had failed you.

And you wanted revenge.

_Was that why you became the Joker's daughter?_

Finally the computer stopped onto an image of a young girl.

**(Name) (Last Name)**

_It was you..._


End file.
